Codi smiled again at the news. A wheelchair would help out a lot, as his legs didn't seem anywhere close to healing up. He finished his breakfast and looked over at Sam expectantly. It had been a few weeks since he had a cigarette. Sam had slowly lowered the amount he could have through out the months, till eventually Codi had forgotten about his addiction. Every now and then, he would crave a smoke and sometimes, if he had been good, he got one.

"Does this mean we can go out?" he asked Sam, feeling a strange feeling bubbling in his stomach. He hadn't been excited for a long time. "We can go to the park!" He chuckled to himself as he played with the remains of his food. "I can see the swans again..."

Samuel reached into a shirt pocket to pull out a small paper cylinder, presenting it to Codi. He'd dialed down the amount of the focusing herb he put in, and nowadays when Codi didn't smoke from one day to the next, Samuel would grind the dry leaves into powder and mix them in spices for whatever he cooked. He'd eat it as well, so he could keep to a one-track mind while he helped Samuel learn how to read and write. Nowadays he'd learned quite a bit, and Samuel was terribly happy when he would see the young man reading on his own. From time to time he'd stumble, but regain himself quickly with a little help.

"Of course, Codi." Samuel said easily. "In fact, I was going to offer a trip to the park when I get the wheelchair. I'm sure you'd like to see the city again, wouldn't you? See the swans and trees... And in a few months' time, I'll be able to remove your braces and help you walk. It'll be painful to start again, but I'll be able to help you." He glanced at his pocket watch, hanging from a belt loop. the time on the letter had read nine in the morning, so Garvin would arrive in about thirty minutes with the mode of transportation. "Not long now, Codi." He assured the young man.

Codi took the cigarette and lit it almost in one action, placing it in his mouth and breathing in deeply. The smoke made him splutter the first few puffs, like someone who had just started. Eventually he could suck on the end of it as he picked up his book again, flicking back to the end of the story. "Sam, what does this word mean? 'Foooorrrmmmm-muuuuullllleeee-late... ed.. Formulated'?" he pointed at the offending word, showing it to his friend. No... Sam was more than just a friend. He was Codi's parent, sibling, teacher... Sam was everything and more to Codi and he couldn't imagine a life without him.

He made sure not to blow his smoke into Sam's face, knowing that the non-smoker was against even him smoking. Codi did feel a lot healthier now that he wasn't smoking a pack a day, but old habits died hard. He thought about what Sam had said. He did want to see the city again, even though he had grown afraid of it, due to Sam's constant warnings against how it would ruin him.

Samuel leaned over enough to spy the word and the story it was used in. Normally stories in these books used small words, small sentences, things that seemed obvious but told such intricate stories with what seemingly-limited word base the author had. "Formulated. That means to make or mix something up. Like make up a plan or idea." Codi hadn't asked much about wordings recently. He smiled at the young man, standing and picking up the finished tray. "I'm glad you've learned so much." He said, leaving Codi to clean up the kitchen.

A large bell rang through the building as he finished, and Samuel ran upstairs on swift feet. Garvin was there, a wheelchair sitting beside him. "How is the young man?" He asked, handing over the item to Samuel.

"Quite well, doctor." Samuel replied easily, formally addressing his longtime friend. "It shouldn't be too long that he'll be able to stand on his own two legs. But I'm very glad you've helped me with this. I feel he'll be glad to see the lake."

Garvin smiled, waving as Samuel closed the door and took the wheelchair downstairs. It looked so plainly uncomfortable, and Samuel sighed lightly. He gathered a few light pillows and settled them along the back and seat, and stuffed a thick blanket over all of it to make a comfortable seat.

He heard the bell and waited with a strange mounting excitement for Sam to return with his wheelchair. He hadn't really understood what a chair would do for him, though it sounded as though he could somehow push himself along on a chair with wheels. He chuckled at the thought, able to imagine now that he was constantly drugged with the focussing herbs. He hoped that it had a loud, steam-powered engine, like those found on the new auto mobiles that Codi had heard about.

When Sam returned with the chair, his smile turned into a frown. The chair looked uncomfortable, even though Sam had place pillows and blankets on it to make it seem comfortable. The chair was made of some sort of thin hard leather and the wheels looked rather rickety. They squeaked as they turned. "That's my chair?" he asked, wondering if maybe there had been a mistake.

Samuel studied the chair. It was probably one of the better ones the hospital had. "True, it's not too much to look at." He admitted. "But for today it'll have to do. I can make it look far better tonight, if you prefer." He had some metal that could fit over the frame of the chair, and some rubber he tended to use for traction that he could put over the wheels. "But I can promise it's comfortable for a few hours. Enough time for you to see the city and the park, and see the swans. I think you deserve that."

He smiled, stepping around the chair and crouching beside the bed. "It's a bit cool today, you may like to have a blanket too." And he would have to get dressed in some clothes better to wear in such an area of the city. Samuel had gotten around to getting Codi some new clothes, but not quite an acceptable wardrobe that would be suitable from day to day.

Codi nodded, smiling again at the thought of being able to feed the swans again. "You'll be with me, right?" he asked him, still a bit nervous about going to the streets again. He didn't know how much it had changed out in the cruel world. Those men that used to hit him could very well kill him instead. He adjusted himself, moving his legs from out of the blankets, reading to be dressed. It was a bit difficult for him to get pants on over his braces, but Sam was quite skilled at doing that. That made him remember something Sam had told him last night.

"Did you get a replacement? For the one that broke?" Sam rarely talked to him about his art, as though he was cautious that it would drive Codi to want to escape again. But Codi didn't mind now, know that he would never become a puppet like those others. He was safe with Sam, as long as he didn't make the man mad.

"Of course I'll be with you! Don't be silly." Yesterday Samuel had washed the clothes, including Codi's somewhat limited sets. He pulled a pale, dusty-toned green set out of the relatively bare wardrobe and laid it out beside Codi, crouching down in front of him to help with the young man's pants. They would sometimes get caught on the bottom of the braces, or snag a little at the midway point. But it was a smooth movement for Samuel to tug the legs up and over that little obstacle, and with a little levering of the body, he could help Codi get the pants up without putting weight on his legs.

He was a bit surprised when the young man asked of his art. He didn't normally speak of it with Codi for concern that he might retract a bit, draw into his shell more. After several months, he didn't need that. Codi had become so warm to him, and that was such a good feeling. "I did, in fact." He said lightly, standing up straight as his part of the job was done. "A lovely young man, drifter it seemed. He kept talking about his... parents. And his trust fund. Methinks he only cared about the latter." A good object of the recently unused position. And when he had stepped back to observe his work, he found it perfect! The liveliness the young man gave to the scene was just so needed, and it had added such nice color to the whole thing.

He patted Codi's shoulder. "I'll take this upstairs so we don't have to worry about finding a way up after you're in it." Samuel rolled the item around, grimacing at its squeaking wheels. Bringing it up to the entrance hall, he ran upstairs to find oil. It was there, he used it to grease the hinges of certain frameworks, if they had the necessity to move seamlessly. When he applied the grease along the wheels and tested it, the item moved with a certain deftness and silence that didn't look possible.

Codi thought about what Sam had said. A drifter..? That was what he was before Sam saved him from the streets. Yet... He couldn't remember much about his life before Sam. All he seemed to remember were those men that would force him to do things and then hit him after he couldn't be normal. He sighed and readied himself for Sam to pick up, moving his legs so that he sat on the edge of the bed. He could bend them at the knees, but still couldn't wiggle his toes. He often massaged them so that they wouldn't become useless.

He wondered why Sam hadn't taken him and used him in his puppet show. The man was always going on about how beautiful and perfect he was...

He half-bounced down the stairs, taking them lightly as if they were made of rubber and sliding through the door he'd left open, pushing wide and doing the same to Codi's door. "Come along, the park is at its prime in the mornings." He lifted the young man effortlessly, as he was quite a bit lighter than most of those he carried about and wasn't a type of dead weight, even with the extra from the leg braces. With Codi's arms around him, Samuel made sure to avoid causing pain by shouldering his way through an open doorway with Codi's legs first, following by the rest of the body. In what seemed like just a few strides Samuel was up the stairs and settling Codi in the chair, easing his legs down so they wouldn't catch anything nearby. At least this would give them a wide place to walk---people would want to avoid the wheelchair and the one in it out of common decency. And he would easily push Codi down the ramp off the side of the building, though it did slope a bit sharply. "Are we ready?" He asked, crouched beside Codi.

Codi moved slightly in the chair, trying to find a comfortable spot. He made sure the blanket was wrapped around his legs and lower body to keep himself warm. He was a bit afraid, but also excited to see the park again. Once he had run along those paths... Or did he? Codi couldn't remember a time when his legs weren't broken. He kept thinking that he was always disabled and Sam had rescued him from the cruel and unforgiving streets. How had his legs broken...? He couldn't remember and never liked to ask Sam for some reason.

He nodded to show how ready he was, but clutched at the arm rests hard as Sam pushed him. It sure felt strange, being moved in this manner. He had to fully trust the man and it made his heart race as they moved towards the ramp on the side of the building. "G-Go a bit slow, ok?" he said, shaking slightly.

Once they were out of the theater, Samuel directed Codi along to the ramp and paused. "Don't worry, Codi, I promise I'll go slow." He did, bringing the front wheels down and lifting the front of the chair so Codi wouldn't feel the urge to slip forward. In a moment they were on flat ground again and headed forward, crossing the street when the carriages and one of the new vehicles passed by. People were walking about in front of the shops, and made sure to give a wide space for the quiet wheelchair and its occupant, smiling kindly at them both as they passed. The breeze was sweet as it flowed from the direction of the park, and it brushed back the loose hair from Samuel's face.

"Is it nice to be back out and about?" He asked, leaning forward a bit to speak to Codi without raising his voice. He was sure the young man would like to be back in the park, and perhaps see more of it.

Codi still clung to the arm rests, but a smile had come back to his lips. He was fascinated by one of the new steam powered vehicles puffing along the road and liked how everyone seemed so nice to him. The air was warm, with a soft breeze to cool it down just a little. He could smell perfumes, baking breads, smoke and horse manure and for some reason these smells excited him. It made him remember the days he was a drifter, begging for money and doing what he could to survive.

Now he was happy. Well-groomed and fed, slightly more educated and cared for. He wondered if this was what having a parent felt like. "It's lovely. Can we get ice cream afterwards?" he asked, as they passed an ice cream shop.

Those steam-powered vehicles were so strange and yet, so beautiful in their machinery. Like his creations, with so many moving parts entwined in metal and rubber, string and leather and cloth. And a living thing inside it, working it, making it do as the master wanted. He smiled lightly as he wheeled Codi along, watching the steam puff into the air and fade away, leaving no trace. Beautiful work of technology, those vehicles. And they didn't need to be fed so much as horses. Or cleaned up after. And were certainly not as loud or unpredictable.

He laughed at Codi's request. "I don't see why not." Samuel replied lightly. They turned, and the walls and gates of the park were in view at last. "Ah, almost there." He breathed. "Would you like to see more of the park after you find the swans?" And there were little cooled metal carts selling cold things, and among them, ice cream. the owners of the carts tended to make their own fares, so one could be confident that whatever they sold would have been made that day, or the night before.

Codi wondered just how big the park was. When he had explored it, he had quickly found the lake and swans. They hadn't really walked around more after that because it was getting dark. Or was that just a dream? He blinked as they made their way into the tamed forests of the city's largest park.

They stuck to the paved footpaths, staying clear of the gravel as it would make it harder to move the wheelchair. Soon they came to the little bridge and Codi could see the ducks and beautiful white swans again. It was a bit hard to see them over the railings, so he had to peer through them. "Is there a better place we can sit by the lake? I can't see anything," he asked Sam, hoping that the man didn't mind pushing him further along.

He could see a small platform near where the boats were tied to. There was only one small step down and then they could sit right next to the water. Codi pointed it out to Sam.

Samuel was afraid of that. From his position, Codi couldn't see as well as he had been able to last time. But his request was a logical one, and Samuel didn't mind. “The dock would be much nicer, I agree.” He said lightly, and turned Codi away to go the rest of the way over the bridge, along the path that swerved first away from the water, then toward it gain in a branching---one part of the path went to the water and the dock, and the other descended into the cover of trees. Samuel would have loved to go right there, into that mysterious beauty, but Codi deserved to see the water and his feathered friends again. He carefully lowered the chair down the step that went onto the dock, and then settled the chair to face the whole of the lake so that it could be watched from here, and enacted the breaks on both back wheels. Going around to crouch beside Codi, he sighed. “Such a beautiful place...” He said lightly.

“Do you realize just how large this park is?” Samuel asked after a moment, spying a small collection of swans nearby, mingling with ducks in a form of tolerance. “So massive... You would be surprised. You may find the trees just as enticing as the water.” He certainly did. Samuel loved to vanish into the trees and become lost in the quiet, the beauty, the way the earth smelled and breathed with its own life. So different.

Codi smiled as he watched the ducks and beautiful swans paddle about the lake, dabbing their flat beaks into the water in search of the insects that lived on the surface of the water. He felt so peaceful watching them, as though nothing bad had ever happened to him. He was lost in his own mind, thinking deeply about things he had never thought about. Sam had done this to him, he knew this. But he had done this so he would be safe. And Codi would never take it back. He was happy now, with Sam looking after him. He didn't have to worry about strange men asking him for things and then beating him up, or where he'd get his next meal from...

"I'd like to see," he replied after awhile. His legs were paining him again, but he said nothing to Sam. He could be brave and tolerate the pain for awhile longer.